Courtyard gardens, enclosed on all sides by walls or fences, can transform a cramped space into an oasis. They preserve privacy while welcoming sunlight. They make even the smallest home feel larger. We’ve collected 10 of our favorites.
Color Code
![By putting colorful patchwork tile on nearly every inch of the walls and floors of a tiny house’s open-air kitchen and courtyard garden, Vietnam-based architects a\2\1studio transformed the minuscule into something magnificent. For more of this garden, see Saigon Story: Crazy Quilt Tile in a Courtyard Garden. Photograph courtesy of a\2\1studio.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/a21studio-tiled-courtyard-garden-vietnam-7-733x489.jpg)
Balcony Views
![When garden designer Brook Klausing first saw his clients’ townhouse backyard in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, it looked bleak: a chain-link fence, an old concrete patio, and a patch of hard-packed dirt. No more. For more of this garden, see Garden Designer Visit: Brook Klausing Elevates a Brooklyn Backyard. Photograph courtesy of Brook Landscape.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/flabush-garden-brook-klausing-3-gardenista-e1456346311371-733x489.jpg)
Privacy, Please
![In Manhattan, an airy hedge of bamboo provides screening at the garden’s perimeter while a pared-down palette of green and white focuses the eye on the center of the space. “The white limestone is like a canvas. When the sun is directly overhead, you can see the shadows of the bamboo and other plants starkly against it,” says designer Julie Farris. Photograph by Matthew Williams.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/julie-farris-manhattan-garden-french-doors-steel-townhouse-stone-patio-gardenista-dsc-1591-e1470797372891-733x530.jpg)
For more of this garden, see Before & After: From ‘Fishbowl’ Townhouse Garden to Private Oasis.
Elegant Restraint
![A high-low mix of luxury and restraint (and clipped boxwood balls) lend a European air to Kristin Meidell’s Brooklyn courtyard garden. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista. For more of this garden, see our book Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/kristin-meidell-brooklyn-courtyard-garden-by-matthew-williams-733x533.png)
Espalier Edge
![Robin Key Landscape Architecture created a modern outdoor room for a young family in downtown Manhattan. For more, see Lush Life: A Townhouse Garden in Manhattan.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/nyc-cuortyard-garden-robin-key-photo-by-francine-fleischer.jpg)
Indoor-Outdoor Living
![A feature of larger English country gardens is the outdoor room, away from the house: It helps to structure a space and to provide shelter. Here in a small London garden, shelter is a given, with frost almost unknown, making it possible to throw open the connecting doors to the courtyard. Photograph courtesy of The Modern House.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/london-garden-mapledene-road-the-modern-house-733x489.jpg)
For more, see 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from London.
Clipped Topiary
![A courtyard garden in Belgium by Archi-Verde. For more, see Steal This Look: The Spirit of Provence in a Walled Belgian Garden](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/walled-garden-courtyard-antwerp-archi-verde-733x452.jpg)
A Touch of Red
![UK-based designer Jinny Blom’s own garden on a hill in London. She had the back wall lowered to frame the trees and has not smothered the brick in climbers. For more, see Required Reading: The Thoughtful Gardener by Jinny Blom. Photograph by Andrew Montgomery.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/thoughtful-gardener-photo-andrew-montgomery-1-1-733x550-733x550.jpg)
Layered Look
![Landscape architect Susan Wisniewski\2\17;s courtyard garden for a Manhattan townhouse has layers of texture—stone, wood, and greenery—to create an illusion of greater space. For more of her work, see Landscape Architect Visit: A Hudson Valley Farm, Pond Included. Photograph by Tom Moore.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/manhattan-susan-wisniewski-kitchen-courtyard-gardenista-733x489.jpg)
Recycled & Renewed
![Says Christine, \2\20;One of our all-time favorite remodels in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood is architect Julian King’s thoughtful update of a Victorian townhouse, which uncovered character-filled historical details and created a sunny back garden.\2\2\1;](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/chelsea-townhouse-gardenafter-3-gardenista-733x550.jpg)
Recycled bricks and stones found on the property during the remodel pave the garden and edge the garden beds. For more of this project, see Before & After: A Garden Duplex in a Historic Chelsea Townhouse.
Designing a new outdoor space? Start with our tips for designing Decks & Patios in our curated guide to Hardscapes 101. For more of our favorite courtyard gardens, see:
- A Secret Courtyard Garden in Piccadilly, Ancient Tree Ferns Included.
- LA Confidential: A Private Courtyard Garden Goes Luxe on a Budget.
- Water’s Edge: A Saltwater Courtyard Garden on Bainbridge Island.
- Steal This Look: Garden Courtyard at Shed in Healdsburg, CA.
- A Jewel Box Townhouse Garden in SF
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